Four Monroe Community Hospital residents to serve on advisory board

Four residents of Monroe Community Hospital are scheduled to be nominated to an advisory board that was re-activated after the hospital's executive director was fired over his mistreatment of a resident.

Nominations are expected to be made at the regularly scheduled meeting of the hospital's resident council on May 23, said Steve Bartlett, public relations director for the hospital. The council meets every other month.

Immediate re-establishment of the 21-member Monroe Community Hospital Board was one of the requirements by the state Department of Health as part of a plan approved May 10 to fix problems at MCH under former head Todd Spring.

The Monroe County Legislature named 17 members to the board at its meeting Tuesday night and confirmed four slots for residents. Whoever is nominated by the resident council will become members. Residents can nominate themselves or be chosen by others. If more than four people are nominated, the resident council will vote, Bartlett said.

The board is supposed to be in place by May 24.

The board advises the Monroe County executive on matters of operation, staffing and management of the hospital and its director, according to the Monroe County charter. In addition to the hospital residents, the board includes two legislators, nine representatives from area health care providers and health agencies and six citizens.